Victoria calls for privacy in cloud design

Privacy commissioner outlines risks for agencies.

Acting Victorian Privacy Commissioner Anthony Bendall has called on cloud providers to adopt a 'privacy by design' mindset when creating services for government consumption.

Bendall told the Local Government Forum in Melbourne last month (pdf) that government adoption of cloud services is "somewhat inevitable", given take-up by private businesses.

However, he urged cloud providers to take the privacy obligations of government users into account to enable departments, agencies and councils to consume cloud services.

"If private organisations want to come to the cloud computing party and provide services to government, they should ensure they are compliant with privacy laws, because ultimately if something happens, it is the government organisation or council's data (and reputation) that is at stake," Bendall said.

"My office has already been consulted on projects where it is being used without deep analysis of the risks and benefits or a full appreciation of the impacts it might have on informational privacy."

Bendall highlighted lack of control as a key risk in turning workloads over to a cloud provider.

"Organisations usually give up control for cost savings and convenience, but when the additional steps required to ensure privacy protection are factored in, there may be no actual cost savings benefit to the organisation," he said.

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form without prior authorisation.Your use of this website
constitutes acceptance of nextmedia's Privacy Policy and
Terms & Conditions.